The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be held in France from July 26 to August 11, while the field field hockey events will take place from July 27 to August 9, 2024 at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes, a legendary stadium that hosted the 1924 Summer Olympics a century ago!
In all, no fewer than 24 teams - 12 women's teams and 12 men's teams - will be battling it out for Gold, Silver and Bronze in the men's final on August 8 and the women's final the following day, August 9, 2024.
While you're waiting for these lively and entertaining matches, (re)discover thehistory of field field hockey, learn the rules of this technical sport and recall the records and great sporting moments in the history of field field hockey!
Traces of field hockey, in a less formal form than today, can be found as far back as antiquity, 4,000 years ago in Egypt, but also in Ethiopia (1000 BC) and Iran (2000 BC). A similar game was later played by the Romans, Greeks and Aztecs , as well as in China and Mongolia.
The roots of modern field field hockey go back to England in the early 19th century, particularly in private schools and colleges. The evolution of field field hockey is often attributed to the creation of the Hockey Association in London in 1875, which established the first official rules of the game - rules that are different from its Canadian cousin, ice hockey!
The sport grew in popularity in schools and clubs, and in 1908, field field hockey became an Olympic sport at the London Games, before making its definitive entry into the Olympic program in 1928, at the Amsterdam Games. It wasn't until 1980, however, that women's hockey made its debut at the Moscow Games!
Each field field hockey team is made up of 11 players, including 10 on the pitch and a goalkeeper. As is often the case in ball games, the aim is to score goals by sending a hard ball into the opponent's goal using a hook-shaped stick. The match begins with a kick-off from the center of the field, and play resumes after each goal with another kick-off.
When the ball goes out of bounds, a throw-in is taken at the point where it went out, by passing the ball over the line from the side. Free kicks are awarded for various offences. Opposing players must be at a certain distance before the free kick is taken. If a serious foul is committed in the shooting circle, the attacking team is awarded a"penalty corner", an opportunity to take a short-range shot from the opposing goal line, surrounded by players from the defending team.
Yellow and green cards are issued for serious offences, and the penalized player must leave the pitch temporarily: 2 minutes for a green card, 5 minutes for a yellow card. If the player receives a red card, he is excluded from the game. Offside, on the other hand, is not a rule in field field hockey, which means that players can move freely around the pitch, which is 91.4 metres long and 55 metres wide.
A standard match is divided into 4 15-minute periods. The goalkeeper has specific rules for playing the ball with his body, and is the only player allowed to use his feet in the shooting circle area.
India has long held on to its championship title, winning Gold 8 times, including 6 consecutively between 1928 and 1956, with 30 wins in a row and 197 goals scored against 8 conceded! With the sport's modern origins in Anglo-Saxon countries, it's hardly surprising that, over the decades, countries such as India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand,South Africa... and England, formerly under the rule of theBritish Empire, have topped the rankings.
At the 1976 Montreal Games, New Zealand won the gold medal, becoming the first non-Asian or European team to win Olympic gold in field field hockey. Other countries have subsequently distinguished themselves at Olympic level, including Argentina, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Spain. What about France?
France has long been absent from the Olympic Games, ever since the Munich Games in 1972. But as host nation, France has secured a place for its men's team and a place for its women's team, the French having reached the world's top 25 since the Tokyo Games in 2021.
A sine qua non condition imposed by the International Hockey Federation to obtain the precious sesames for the 2024 Olympics, and largely respected by the French athletes: les Bleus are ranked 9th, les Bleues 25th! It's a great first for France, which qualifies both its men's and women's teams, and it's even the very first time that the women's team will be taking part in the Olympics!
A perfect example of the parity at the heart of field field hockey (of the 30 million field hockey players in the world, 51% are women and 49% men) and a relief for France which, with this participation in the 2024 Olympics, is perhaps signing the great comeback of French field hockey!
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